Yesterday WSSC Water, a Md.-based water utility, announced that seven of its facilities received awards of excellence from two leading national industry organizations.
At the utility’s monthly Commission meeting, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) presented their Peak Performance Awards to five water resource recovery facilities (formerly known as wastewater treatment plants). In addition, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) presented Presidents Awards to two water filtration plants.
“To achieve this level of sustained excellence under normal circumstances is incredible, but to win these awards during the challenges brought on by COVID-19 is even more impressive,” said WSSC Water General Manager and CEO Carla A. Reid. “I express my sincere gratitude to all of the H2O Heroes who work at these facilities every day to protect public health and the environment.”
NACWA’s Peak Performance Awards
NACWA’s Peak Performance Awards are rewarded to facilities that have demonstrated extraordinary success in consistently complying with their federal permit limits and Clean Water Act standards. The awards are given in three different categories: Silver for facilities with five or fewer violations in a calendar year; Gold for facilities that achieve 100 percent compliance in a calendar year; and Platinum for facilities that have consistently achieved perfect compliance for five or more years.
Five of the utility’s water resource recovery facilities received Peak Performance Awards as follows:
- Damascus, Platinum, 21st consecutive year
- Parkway, Platinum, 15th consecutive year
- Seneca, Platinum, 15th consecutive year
- Hyattstown, Platinum, 10th consecutive year
- Piscataway, Gold, second consecutive year
“As we emerge from this prolonged public health crisis, it is imperative that we acknowledge and celebrate the backbone of our communities: municipal clean water agencies,” said Adam Krantz, Chief Executive Officer of NACWA. “On behalf of NACWA’s Board of Directors, I congratulate WSSC Water’s Piscataway, Hyattstown, Parkway, Seneca, and Damascus Water Resource Recovery Facilities for their continued compliance with Clean Water Act standards and thank the staff at these facilities for their dedication to excellence. Their achievements serve as inspiration to the entire public clean water sector.”
AWWA’s Presidents Award
AWWA’s Presidents Award is part of their Treatment Plant Optimization Program, focused on optimizing treatment plant performance and distribution system operation. WSSC Water’s two water filtration plants - Potomac and Patuxent – earned the Presidents Award for sustained water treatment excellence. They are the only two water filtration plants to reach this level of distinction in Maryland.
“The staff and volunteers of AWWA’s Partnership Programs congratulate the dedicated employees at WSSC Water’s Patuxent and Potomac water filtration plants for achieving the Treatment Plant Optimization Program’s Presidents Award in 2021,” said Dr. Todd Brewer, AWWA Senior Manager of Grants, Education, Utility & Partnership Programs. “Utility leadership and plant staff are commended for their unending focus on continuous improvement. Both plants reaching the Presidents Award level is a testament to WSSC Water’s overall commitment to continuous improvement, operational excellence and public health protection that earns the Presidents Award year after year.”
SOURCE: WSSC Water
